Cora: Red Sox were right there in playoff race but 'blew it'

Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora acknowledges it was tough to see his team eliminated from wild-card contention Wednesday after it played like a postseason club for stretches of the year.

"Our goal was to make it to the playoffs. It didn't happen, but it's a good learning experience for those kids over there," Cora said following a 6-1 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays, according to Ian Browne of MLB.com. "Obviously, it's going to be a different group next year, but for them to think that they were almost there. I mean, at one point it felt like we were a playoff-caliber team, and then we missed the opportunity.

"Let's put it that way. You look around, you look at the teams that are fighting, we had it right there and we blew it."

The Red Sox entered the All-Star break with a 53-43 record, which had them sitting in the AL's final wild-card spot. However, the team has gone 27-36 in the second half to miss the playoffs for a third straight season and fifth time over the last six years.

"We play these games to make it to the postseason and win a World Series. So, falling short of that, it should be a disappointment," first-year chief baseball officer Craig Breslow said, according to Sean McAdam of MassLive. "I want it to be a disappointment; I want it to hurt. That doesn't mean that we can't find things that we did well or things that are encouraging or reasons for optimism."

Boston (80-79) still has a chance to finish as high as third in the AL East after last-place showings in 2022 and 2023.